"I'm very happy, the team showed a great attitude"

POST-MATCH

It was with three goals without reply (3-0) that Benfica beat Casa Pia this Saturday evening, August 17, on matchday 2 of the Liga Betclic. A "fair win", in Roger Schmidt's opinion, who, in his analysis of the match, stressed that the team created "very good chances". 

PATIENCE AND BELIEF BUILT VICTORY

"Every win is very important to us. This response will be the same all season. I think the game was very good, we played a very good game. We needed some patience to score the first goal. We had a few chances in the first half, we had to put them under pressure, force mistakes, but at some point we scored the first goal and were able to decide the game in a very positive way. I'm very happy with the performance of the players, with the football we played and also with the mental part. It's never easy if you lose your first game of the season. Especially with it being Benfica, of course there's a lot of pressure on the players, which is why I'm very happy that they showed a great attitude today [Saturday, August 17]. They were completely focused on the game, even though they needed a little bit to decide the game. I think they stayed calm and believed in themselves, so I'm very happy with that."

SHAKE UP THE GAME WITH UNPREDICTABILITY

"I think today's starting XI was top-notch, and last week's [against Famalicão] as well. The substitutions were also top-notch. It's part of the game that you have different options, and you have to decide on the eleven. The players who played today are all in very good condition. They've all done their pre-season training and are physically at the top of their game. Some players in our squad still need some training and a few weeks to get into perfect shape. That's why I make my decisions. Of course, they can always say that if you didn't score in the first 60 minutes, the eleven was a mistake. But I look at it differently. I know a bit about football and I know that sometimes you need some patience, because you miss some chances and then you have to use your options on the bench. What we needed today was a bit more presence in the box. A more unpredictable game, a bit more speed, and I think, with Orkun [Kökcü], creativity in a deeper position as well. That's what we did today, and that's what we always have to do. We have to adjust our approach to playing football for 90 minutes in order to win games. But it has nothing to do with whether it was a mistake at the start, and which final team should have played from the start. VI see it in a slightly different way. I'm glad we made good changes today, because it was important, and because when you're not scoring, you need the players on the bench. They were there, and it's a great sign for the team as a whole, and especially for the attitude of the players who came on."

GOOD MENTALITY AND UNITY TO MANAGE PRESSURE

"[Does the pressure remain?] Good question... I think that when you have high goals, as we do - and expectations are always high for Benfica - of course there's pressure, but there's also a lot of motivation. We know our quality, the requirements to win titles, and we know we're capable of doing it. We're more focused on that. You also have to show the mentality here to be focused during complicated moments and to play football for 90 minutes. That's very clear. We're talking about it, and I think we had a lot of difficult moments last season, in the first season and this season. We were always able to show a good reaction in difficult moments, and that's what the team did again. Especially as we have a lot of new players. If you look at it, we always have to create something new in our style of football too, because we have different types of players. I'm very happy that they always pull together and build a very good spirit in the team. In the end, we're capable of dominating games and winning games, like we did today [Saturday, August 17]. I'm very happy about that, but the pressure will remain on until the last game of the season."

FOCUSED ON PLAYING GOOD FOOTBALL

"Last season was last season and this season is this season. Expectations are always high here at Benfica. Even when we play well but don't score, there are people who are dissatisfied, and it's like I said before: in these moments, you have to show attitude. You have to show personality, character and believe in yourself. That's what our team did today. After the game, everyone was happy. The fans are happy, we're happy, the coach is happy, the President is happy, even Ricardo [Lemos] is happy [laughs]... That's our job, to stay calm and focus on the most important thing, and the most important thing is to play good football."